communication

Cry Baby: Baby Cries and Language Development

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Babies cry. Period.

For those first few months, newborns sound the alarm every time they feel slightly off kilter. As a new parent, it can be rough trying to decipher what your baby needs. Regardless of how many parenting books you may read, decoding cries doesn’t necessarily come with textbook instructions

Crying is the first and most important form of communication infants have with their parents and caregivers. Their entire survival depends on it. The first two months of life, their cries intensify, peaking between 6 to 8 weeks before significantly decreasing by 3 to 4 months of age. This decline aligns with key developmental milestones, such the emergence of self-soothing behaviors (sucking fingers to turning head away when overstimulated), vocalizations (cooing and babbling), and motor skills (reaching, grasping, pushing up onto elbows and forearms during tummy time).

Although it can be tough to handle your baby’s cries, especially in the moment, there’s always a rhyme and reason behind them. Every cry is a way of communicating a need.

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Repeat After Me: Kids and Modeling Language

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Kids are like little sponges and they absorb knowledge through observation, exploration, and experience. Learning to communicate and socialize appropriately is no different. From quoting movie lines, repeating encouraging phrases, or even calling us “Bruh”, they soak in everything they hear and try to apply it in everyday conversation whether they fully understand it or not. While their process trial and error can be amusing, it raises the question of how their models (primarily us) can shape their lives, their friendships, attitudes, identities, and their self-esteem and confidence.

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PTO: Parenting Time Off

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

When we were first talking about this article, Patti mentioned that she needed to teach her kids personal space. It seemed like every time her girls needed something, they would physically crawl all over her. While this is cute with babies, twin toddlers coming from all sides feels a bit like quicksand.

Let’s face it. Parenting is a full-time job. There’s no such thing as taking a real break from it. So, when it comes to catching some R and R for a moment, how do you tell your kid?

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